The Darkness of Light

by Tammy Farrell

  There was a moment of silence. “If I do he’ll kill me,” Annora finally said.

  “Oh Annora, please, please open the door. Where is he now?”

  “In Rowan’s chamber. He’s been there all day.”

  “Then open the door, Annora. If he comes, we will tell him you brought me water. There is no harm in that.”

  There was silence, and then at last Mara heard the latch slowly turn and the door slid open. Annora stepped in and closed it behind her. Mara threw her arms around her. Annora looked fraught with worry, and the whites of her eyes were red from crying. She glanced back at the door nervously. “I’m not supposed to be in here. He will kill me, Mara.”

  Mara held Annora’s shoulders and searched her face. “Has he hurt you?”

  Annora shook her head and then burst into tears. “No. But he is frightening me. Rowan is dead, and he has you locked up in here. I don’t understand what’s happening.” Then she looked at Mara more closely and gasped. “What has he done to you? Why do you look that way?”

  “He took my powers. He took Rowan’s too,” Mara said, lowering her eyes.

  Annora put her hands to her mouth. “How can he do such a thing?”

  “I don’t know. I think it’s because he has the Lia Fáil.I don’t have the strength to fight him.” Mara felt her face flush with shame.

  “This is so horrible,” Annora cried.

  Mara squeezed Annora’s shoulders and looked hard into her childlike eyes. “Annora, you have to let me out of here.”

  Annora shook her head. “Oh, I can’t do that. He will know it was me.”

  Mara groaned. She knew Annora was right. How could she escape without subjecting Annora to Malcolm’s wrath? “Come with me then!” Mara begged.

  Annora’s eyes widened. “I can’t,” she said. “You don’t know what it’s like out there. I mean, what it’s really like.”

  Mara found herself almost shaking Annora. “Listen to me. We will stay clear of the roads, and we will look for Corbin. Surely it will only take a few days to find him. Then we will be safe. Please, Annora. We can’t stay here.”

  Annora seemed to consider it for an unbearably long amount of time.

  “Annora!” Mara said in a louder whisper. “We have to leave now if we’re going to leave at all.”

  “All right,” Annora conceded.

  Mara picked up her cloak. She didn’t know if the concealing spell Malcolm put on it would still work, but she had to try it. She stuck her head into the hallway. Rowan’s chamber was down a corridor off the great hall. If they were quiet enough, they could pass through the hall and out the secret passageway.

  Mara looked to Annora. “Wait here a moment.” Mara crept down the hall towards her chamber. When she reached the door she bolted in, pulled the dagger from under her mattress and grabbed another cloak for Annora. Then she tiptoed back to Corbin’s room and took Annora by the hand. It was crucial they move quietly, should Malcolm’s hypersensitive senses alert him to their escape.

  The great hall was pitch black and cold. In the quietest voice Mara could manage she whispered to Annora, “Use your senses to guide us out of here.”

  Annora’s powers were very weak, but she held tight to Mara’s hand and led her towards the secret doorway. When they reached the door, it was barred with a heavy wooden slab. Mara tried to lift it, but her mortal strength wasn’t enough. She gestured for Annora to come closer and motioned with her finger to her temple, and then to the bar, trying to get Annora to use her Light to open it. Annora shook her head with uncertainty. Mara knew Annora had never used her power to move things before, and if she had, she was too weak to affect any result. But Annora’s fear was high, and she was their only chance.

  Mara clasped her hands together in a silent prayer, pleading with her to try.

  Annora finally nodded and began to focus on the door, but it didn’t move. Mara took Annora’s hands into hers and guided them underneath the bar.

  At first nothing happened, but then suddenly, the block began to shift. They both looked at each other in surprise and lifted the bar as slowly and quietly as possible.

  When the slab was fully retracted, and the door was unbarred, Mara pushed on it and it gave way until there was a space large enough for the two girls to fit through.

  Mara wanted to rejoice, but she knew they weren’t out of danger just yet. She led Annora down the levels of rock and jumped. The moment their feet were on the ground Mara grabbed Annora’s hand and pulled her towards the tree line. When they finally reached the edge of the forest, Annora stopped and looked back at Valenia.

  Mara tugged her by the hand. “Come on, Annora. We have to go now,” she whispered impatiently.

  The two escaped girls ran as fast as they could. Though Annora possessed some Dia abilities, she couldn’t run much faster than Mara, and soon they were both winded and fatigued. Mara remembered the way to Dunport, but she suspected that would be the first place Malcolm would look for them. Too many thoughts were racing through her tired mind to make a decision. Without her powers, her head felt clouded and confused. It certainly wasn’t safe for two lone women in the forest, and she could no longer sense if any Dia was following them. But she knew the forest well and that Moorthrop was east. It was at least a two-day ride, and would be even longer on foot. Her only chance was to head in that direction and hope they crossed paths with Corbin on his way back to Valenia.

  Mara glanced at Annora, who waited nervously beside her. After what she’d just been through, a part of Mara wanted to give up and let the forest swallow her whole. It would have been easy enough. But it wasn’t just her life she had to consider now. She owed it to Annora as her liberator to keep them safe. “We have to stay off the roads, Annora. How is your sight?”

  Annora shrugged. “It’s good, so long as the moon stays out.”

  Mara wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “We have to keep moving a little longer and get far enough away so Malcolm can’t sense or hear us. Then we can find some shelter and wait out the night.”

  “Outside?” Annora whispered fearfully.

  “Yes,” Mara said, trying not to sound edgy. “We’ll be fine. Just keep your eyes sharp. I’ll worry about the rest.” Mara pulled her dagger from under her cloak. “The brush is going to get thicker as we go. Pull your cloak closer to you to protect your legs.”

  It wasn’t easy traveling in the dark. The deeper into the forest they went, the darker it became. Annora let out the occasional quiet shriek at the strange sounds of the night, but Mara forced her on nevertheless. When they finally stopped, the clouds had completely blocked out the moonlight, covering the forest in an eerie blanket of darkness. Mara spotted a wide boulder ahead of them. “We can use that to make a shelter,” she said.

  “How?” Annora asked, her eyes darting around the forest.

  “Like this.” Mara began collecting long felled branches and dragging them over to the rock. Then she arranged them against the boulder, creating a little enclosure. “Give me your cloak,” Mara said, holding out her hand to Annora.

  “But it’s cold.”

  “Just give me the cloak. You’ll see.”

  Annora hesitated and then undid the tie on her cloak and handed it over. Mara placed it flat on the ground beneath the shelter and took off her own. She directed Annora into the shelter, and once they were both underneath, Mara draped the black silk cloak over them, hoping the concealing spell still worked. She huddled close to Annora for warmth.

  Being in the forest at night reminded Mara of the first time she had done it to escape her village, only this time felt very different. Now she was stronger of will, wiser, and she wasn’t alone. Mara rubbed Annora’s shivering shoulder. “I don’t know how I will ever thank you,” she said.

  Annora shook her head. “Don’t thank me. I was just as much a captive as you were.”

  “Well then I’m sorry you had to leave your home.”

  Annora gave a quick, contemptuous laugh. “That was n
ot my home. I was nothing more than a servant at Valenia. I was a useless Dia. I’m more human than anything else.”

  “If it wasn’t for your Light, we wouldn’t have made it out the door.”

  Annora considered what Mara said. “That’s true.” She turned on her side to face Mara. “I’m glad I left with you. Sleeping in the forest isn’t so bad.” She looked around. “Well, actually it is bad, but not horrible.”

  Mara smiled through the sadness she felt inside. “I’m sorry I don’t know you better, Annora. I feel like we’ve been strangers all this time.” Mara could see the look of gratitude that came over Annora, who smiled and said, “It looks like we have plenty of time to get to know each other now.”

  Mara yawned with mortal exhaustion. “I suppose we do.”

  It was almost sunup by the time Malcolm realized the girls escaped.

  In the hours preceding this discovery, he found himself once again scouring Rowan’s chamber. After many hours of studying the numerous scrolls, parchments, and manuscripts, Malcolm stumbled across a letter. It was a small piece of sheep skin vellum that looked as though it had been torn from a larger piece and scraped of its previous writings. He read the letter again and again, trying to grasp the truth of what Rowan had already given away.

  Brother,

  It seems it was not so very long ago that you were but a child and I, your very devoted teacher and friend. This is why I feel you are owed an explanation for my sudden departure. Kain is dead. I cannot reveal what caused these events, but please understand, brother, that I had no choice. It was either my life or his, and while I would have gladly given up my own, I was not in a position to do so.

  I hope you can accept my confession with the joy of knowing that you and the others are now free from him, though I fear my actions will haunt me for the rest of my days on this earth.

  It would have been a great consolation to know that I could have shared my unhappiness with you, but I fear the knowledge of it would mean death to my fellow mourner, and so it is with that I will leave your company.

  What you wish to do with the child is your choice, though I warn you he will likely possess the nature of his father. It may be wise to bring him up as a mortal instead of lighting a flame that the winds of destiny might blow.

  I beg that you heed my warning, for I have never steered you wrong, and I will finish with a farewell. Take care, dear brother, and I hope you find your way to the Light we were born to carry.

  Ethnea

  Malcolm let Ethnea’s words churn over in his mind as his hatred for her grew. This vexation was so profound that, for some time, he didn’t even notice how quiet Valenia had become. And when he finally realized he could no longer hear Annora’s incessant weeping, he tore down the hall, shocked to discover that the weak-minded girl had disobeyed his ferocious warning to keep away from the hall of chambers.

  When Malcolm saw the unlocked door of Corbin’s room he was enraged. But through the madness he soon saw the opportunity that their getaway provided. When he made the covenant with Mara, he was fairly certain he would keep his word, even though he knew letting Corbin live would pose a problem. While it was true Malcolm was now immeasurably stronger than Corbin, he was well aware Corbin would never give up searching for his beloved. Now that Mara fled, Malcolm had no promises to keep, and the strength to acquire all that he wanted. He smiled to himself.

  But there was a challenge with this new circumstance. Because Malcolm had taken Mara’s Light, he could no longer sense her presence in order to pursue her, and while Annora did carry Dia blood, her essence was far too weak to perceive. However, Malcolm saw no mystery to their plans. He knew they would head for Moorthrop in the hopes of intercepting Corbin’s approach.

  He let the scenario play out in his mind. “I will keep my promise, Mara,” he said to himself. “I will tell Corbin you have run off. I have no doubt he will seek you out. And when he does, I will follow his energy until it leads me to you.” Malcolm laughed in a voice that didn’t sound like his own. “Then I can do what I want with you both.”

  While Malcolm waited for Corbin, the champion Dia, to return to Valenia, he used his new strength to place a spell over the great area of the forest. This was the same form of magic Rowan used to create Valenia and what Malcolm now harnessed to throw Mara and Annora off their path. These new gifts allowed him to turn the forest into a baffling, maze-like terrain, where paths seemed to move in circles and caused the flow of rivers to shift. If Mara did remember the way back to Moorthrop, this spell would certainly thwart her progress for days before she even realized they were lost. The thought of it made him laugh again.

  Malcolm folded Ethnea’s letter into his pocket and then bowed his head in a silent prayer of thanks to the gods. Surely they were on his side.

  Two suns had risen and set and still Mara and Annora hadn’t crossed Corbin’s path or reached the town of Moorthrop. Though it had been some time since she first made the journey from Moorthrop to Valenia, it was not so long ago that she should forget the way. For a long time, Mara was certain she was leading them in the right direction, but she was beginning to consider that perhaps she was wrong.

  “Why can’t we just travel one of the roads?” Annora asked. “Will we not find our way then?”

  “We can’t, Annora. It’s too dangerous for women on the roads.” Mara paused ruefully. “And we don’t have enough strength or Light to protect ourselves.”

  “But I’ve heard the horses,” Annora said. “What if it’s Corbin and his men?”

  “You would know, Annora. You would sense Corbin’s presence.”

  Annora shook her head. “I’m more human than Dia, Mara. Whatever strength I have is no more than a paltry endowment from my great-grandmother.”

  “Your paltry endowment got us out of Valenia, didn’t it?” Mara raised her brow. “You have to trust yourself more. If I had done the same, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Mara said. “Now be silent or we will both starve to death.”

  Mara raised the bow she made out of a dry juniper branch and strands of twined thread from her dress. If Mara hadn't had her dagger, the improvised bow would have been difficult to make. But she was quite surprised by her own skill at forming the bow with the twine, cutting the nock, and sharpening sticks for arrows. It wasn’t the same quality as the bow Corbin made for her, but it would have to do.

  Mara eyed the gray rabbit sitting at the base of a tall evergreen, its relaxed ears showing no evidence of caution. If Mara had her powers, hitting the target would be simple, but her mortal vision was limited and her true skill as an archer was flawed. She pulled back on the fragile filament, set her arrow in the direction of her prey and released it. The curved branch of the sapling sprang forward, propelling the arrow through the air. But the rabbit twitched at the sound of the bow, and just before the arrow reached its mark, the rabbit dashed off.

  “Damn it!” she shouted in frustration.

  “You were close,” Annora said in consolation.

  “Close will be the death of us if we don’t find something to eat soon. I think you need to learn to shoot an arrow. You’ll have better aim with your Light.”

  Annora shook her head. “I don’t think I’d be any good at it. You catch the food and I will prepare it.”

  Mara suppressed her irritation. “Well, if not for food then, at least learn so you can defend yourself.” She held up her hands to the forest. “If you haven’t yet noticed, we are not exactly sheltered out here.” Mara tried to smile and handed Annora the bow. “Here, you try with this one and I will make another.” Mara showed Annora how to hold the bow and shoot the arrow just as Corbin had taught her.

  When Annora finally shot one arrow, Mara walked off in search of the materials to construct another bow. She stayed close by and could hear Annora curse with each attempted shot, when suddenly an eerie sensation came over her and Annora’s curses went silent.

  Mara stilled and tried to listen as though she still had her powe
rs, but she heard nothing. She lifted the hood of her cloak to conceal herself and, careful not to snap branches on the ground, she began to walk back towards Annora. As Annora came into view, Mara crept behind a large patch of bushes. Through the leaves she could see the backs of two men. Annora stood frozen in fear before them, and the bow laid on the ground beside her. The two hooded men did not appear to be soldiers. They wore no colors or emblems, though they did wear swords on their backs.

  “Those are some fine clothes for a peasant,” said one of the men. “What’s a young lady like you doing all the way out here?”

  Annora stood, petrified.

  “Well, girl?” asked the other man. “What are you doing out here?”

  “I…” Annora stammered. Her eyes darted back and forth until they landed on Mara through the leaves. She quickly looked away.

  “She can’t be out here alone,” said the first man. “Who is with you?” he demanded.

  Annora seemed to steady herself and square her shoulders. “My party was attacked on the road. My guards will be looking for me.”

  Both of the men chuckled. “Girl, the only ones traveling the roads around here is us, and we haven’t seen any convoy.”

  “She must be worth something,” said the first man. “Look at those clothes, though I don’t know what a lady would be doing with a scar like that. I’m sure we could find a use for her.”

  “Enough with that,” said the second man. “We are not the barbarians. But we can’t just leave her out here.”

  Annora almost began to hyperventilate. “I won’t say I’ve seen you if you kindly let me be on my way,” she said, her eyes pleading.

  “I’m sorry miss, but you won’t find much in the way of kindness out here.” His tone was commanding. He took a step forward and picked up the bow. “Did you make this yourself?”

  With the second man distracted, Mara took a deep, shaky breath, held her dagger and charged at them. She lunged for the closest man’s rib cage, but before she was able to wound him, he pulled his sword from his back and swung it around.